Healey courtesy light...another bright idea

[AUSMHLY]

Well guys, I'm at it again.
Now that I figured out how to illuminate our gauge lights, I've taken on a new project.

How to implement a courtesy light set up.

I will be using a door pin system, hidden of course.
I will be comparing led vs incandesant as the lighting source.
Here's a sneak preview of what I will be installing.

If you, like most of us, do not have infrared eyesight; then at times you have probably found yourself fumbling for the ignition switch or seat belt in the dark. For people like you we have developed this solution, i.e. our car interior illumination unit. After your stepping in and closing the door, this circuit makes the interior light burning for an adjustable time. But there is more. With a simple push button you can interrupt that time, or you can switch the light on or off using that same push button. A safety circuit automatically switches the interior light off after 5 minutes.
Technical specifications

- Switch off delay adjustable between 0 and 60 seconds.
- Push button operation for :
* interrupting the delay.
* switching on lights (with a switch off delay of 5 minutes)
* switching off lights.
- Simple connection to practically all cars.
- Push button supplied with kit.
- Current consumption : 13mA min.
- Secured against polarity reversal of the power supply.

 

[GregW]

I'm gonna start calling you Winchester. :laugh: The timer is a cool touch. Are you going to mount a dome light in the center of the roof?

 

[AUSMHLY]

As always, I like the way you think Greg.
No, but if I did it would more along the lines of a....wow, that's one heckofa dome light you got there on the roof! What? I can't hear you over the BeeGees!

Lights will go in each foot well and one under the center lip of the dash pad. As always, I try for a stealth installation.

A nice feature with this controller is you can push the (hidden under dash, or dash lip) button anytime, for interior light.

 

[GregW]

The roof dome light would cause havoc when folding the top down, gettin' those wires all tangled and such. :wink: One thing to consider might be to replace the panel light switch with a headlight switch (three position). Off | panel | panel & courtesy. That's how I wired my courtesy lights.

 

[tahoe healey]

Moss sells a kit for $35.00 for the 100 and 3000. Just saw it in the sale blast they sent today.

 

[Michael Oritt]

Have you considered one of these? About $6.00 online.

 

[Andy65]

I had a small goose neck light mounted on the dash. Great for throwing light on a map but flexible to point elsewhere. The boating supply magazines have a lot of clever lighting options. westmarine.com

 

[Lin]

Roger,
I did something similar in my car, but I did not want to have any door jam modifications so I took the following approach. I can simply click the remote to have my interior and boot lights come on for 40 seconds or I can switch the toggle switch under the dash fascia to have them stay on until switched off.

If interested I can post the wiring diagram.

<span style="font-weight: bold">
Interior Courtesy Lighting</span>
Purists will get another chuckle out of my addition of remote control courtesy lights in the footwells of the interior, but “hey” now is the time! Again, I did not want to drill any holes in the car for door jam switches so I thought, “why not use electronic remotes used in modern cars to unlock doors, open boots, and set off alarms to activate the lights?”

The remote control system I acquired from Pyle was about $40.00. It included two remote “clickers”, the control module, and the wiring. I grossly underutilized all that the Pyle system makes possible, but I was after simplicity. I just cut off all the extra wires, but I can imagine a few other very practical uses. For example, the fuel pump could be wired in and the remote could be used as an anti-theft device by controlling the activation/deactivation of the pump.

The button on the remote to unlock the car (obviously not needed on a BT7 roadster!) is now pushed to activate the interior/boot lights. As I approach the car at night I can click the remote and my interior and boot lights will come on for about 30-40 seconds and then they extinguish on there own with no other action required.

I wired in a toggle switch located under the dash (unseen by others) which will override the remote that I can switch “on” if I want the interior/boot lights to stay on.

All very simple, clean and unobtrusive. Now if I can just figure out how to disguise that much-to-modern looking remote to look like a british key fob! An image of the wiring diagram is provided to the right.

The lamps were some fairly primitive fixtures purchased from Victoria British, part #15-642, but since they are not easily seen I was not too concerned about their physical appearance. I made some simple brackets and mounted them in the footwells on each side of the car, along with the control module and its relay. Again, placement of the lights was determined by available mounting points so additional holes in the car were not required. I will also locate and wire a light or two into the boot. I plan to run the wires under the carpet, through the kick panel and into the boot.

Lin
1960 BT7 "The Bloody Beast"
1959 AN5 Bugeye

 

[Lin]

Hello all,
This is a link to the photo of my wiring diagram for the Pyle remote control device used to control my courtesy lights. I mounted the small control module in the pedal box cavity on the right hand side of the car.


https://homepage.mac.com/linwoodrose/PhotoAlbum73.html

I am sure Roger's approach works great - this is just another option, that might be slightly improved over Mike Oritt's!

Cheers,

Lin
1960 BT7 "The Bloody Beast"
1959 AN5 Bugeye

 

[AUSMHLY]

Greg, how did you wire you courtesy lights? How many bulbs, what type, where installed, did you use pins in the door etc.
I like your toggle panel light idea.

Michael Oritt...does it come in Healey Blue? There I go, over engineering again with bulbs, wires, switches.

Lin, and I thought I was pushing the envelope, you install a remote controlled approach. Youdaman! Thanks for the link. Nice, very nice!

I appreciate all the input I get here. Sometimes I think I am just reinventing the wheel.

Cheers, Roger

 

[Lin]

Roger,
Don't quit innovating. I love all the ideas!

Cheers,
Lin
1960 BT7 "The Bloody Beast"
1959 AN5 Bugeye

 

[Michael Oritt]

Roger--

I was not being critical--I just couldn't resist--and I am way guilty of putting all kinds of mod's on my 100.

Attached, BTW, is a photo of my solution to something I think we talked about recently--a simple way to connect a charger (or jumper cables) to the battery on a two-seater.

I used Attwood trolling motor connectors--the male connector is installed in the front bulkead neatly through the Armacord just under the spare and the female plugs into it.

 

[Michael Oritt]

Here's a pic of the female connector wired to a set of jumper cables I carry with me. I also have a battery charger with a similar connector wired permanently onto it.

The connectors come in either two or three wire configurations--I could not find the two-wire ones locally so simply clipped off the third wire as shown.

The keyed shut-off switch just to the left of the Attwood receptacle is a marine-grade unit made by Hella which replaces the stock Lucas unit so prone to fail. The key is removable.

As I said: Mea Culpa of fiddling...

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Have you considered one of these? About $6.00 online.

Good idea Mike, but I think you got "dome" and "dash" lights m ixed up. Easy to do though since both begin with a "d"!
Patrick

 

[GregW]

Hi Michael,
If the Targa race starts having night legs, I'll bet you'll be calling Roger to figure out a navigator light. The one you had a picture of probably won't work so well with a helmet. :wink:

<span style="font-weight: bold">I</span> knew you were joking since you helped me out with my fuse box all those years ago.

 

[GregW]

Greg, how did you wire you courtesy lights? How many bulbs, what type, where installed, did you use pins in the door etc.
I like your toggle panel light idea.

I think I posted a photo a while back where I had mounted 6 LEDs in the dash pad, but I'll be repetitive. They are 2 volt each, so I added a small resistor to bring it to 13.5 volts or so. Looking at my wiring diagram, I think I just used the red wire that feeds into the panel switch. Now that you have made me think about it, that isn't the best way, since the ignition switch <span style="font-weight: bold">and</span> the light switch need to be on before the courtesy light will work. A better way would be to tap into a brown wire, either the radio, or off the ignition switch feed. Of course, don't walk away with the light on or the battery will get drained. But with that timer you have, that shouldn't be a problem. BTW, did you make that circuit board? I know Velleman makes kits.

 

[red57]

Great innovations you guys! Now here is another idea to consider for the boot.

Mine is a '57 100-6, and in the interest of being "period correct" I used a 1957 Oldsmobile trunk light. Most of these older american cars used mercury switches so the light is on when the lid is up and off when the lid is down. I mounted it in the upper right corner of the boot lid and have just the one wire with no switch - works great and lights up the whole trunk (boot).

Feels nice & hi-tech/modern but is nothing like Roger's courtesy light or dash light upgrades - I get lost with electricity very easily so I practice the KISS method. I do want to do the LED dash light set-up 'cause dim dash lights have always been a beef of mine.

Dave

 

[AUSMHLY]

Hey Dave,

Care to post a photo of your trunk light set up. I'd like to see it.
Roger

 

[red57]

Roger, I'll be happy go take a picture or two but I haven't ever tried to post a picture so I'll probably have to wait 'till my wife is home to have her help me figure out how. I think the fact that they don't have computers is the major reason I can work on my Healeys....Anyway, I'll try to post pics soon.

Dave

 

[Lin]

I also tried to remain "period correct" on my boot light. I actually used a fixture for the license plate illumination. I removed the chrome cover and just used the glass to give a brighter light in the boot. The glass is VERY heavy, not much fear of breakage. The interior lamps aren't fancy - they came from Victoria - they aren't visible unless you are under the dash.
I made the little toggle switch plate from a piece of "L" bracket aluminum and fastened it to the end of two of the three windscreen motor securing posts. The courtesy lamp toggle switch overrides the "clicker" that turns on the lamps for 40 seconds. The bracket also contains a warning light for activation of my driving lights and a switch for my fuel pumps.

Here a are a few more images.

https://homepage.mac.com/linwoodrose/PhotoAlbum74.html

Cheers,

Lin
1960 BT7 "The Bloody Beast"
1959 AN5 Bugeye